Physicochemical Properties and Characterization of a New Product: Spray Dried Hempseed Milk

The objective of the present study was to investigate the physicochemical properties and powder characterization of hempseed milk powders obtained by whole hempseed and cold-pressed whole hempseed paste (de-oiled). Whole hempseed and de-oiled hempseed paste were used to produce plant based milk powder applying spray drying process. The influence of oil content on physicochemical features, emulsion and rheological properties of the powders was examined. Results showed that dry content, total protein, loose density, tapped density, viscosity, foaming capacity and foaming stability of sprayed-powders produced in milk obtained using whole and de-oiled hemp seeds were not statistically different from each other (p > 0.05). By using de-oiled hempseed cake in feed solution preparation, spray dryer process efficiency increased from 31 to 44% without using any carrier agents. Hempseed powder product with improved properties such as apparent density, solubility, hygroscopicity and emulsion stability index was obtained.

Extraction techniques for bioactive compounds of cannabis

Historically, cannabis has always constituted a component of the civilized world; archaeological discoveries indicate that it is one of the oldest crops, while, up until the 19th century, cannabis fibers were extensively used in a variety of applications, and its seeds comprised a part of human and livestock nutrition. Additional evidence supports its exploitation for medicinal purposes in the ancient world. The cultivation of cannabis gradually declined as hemp fibers gave way to synthetic fibers, while the intoxicating ability of THC eventually overshadowed the extensive potential of cannabis. Nevertheless, the proven value of certain non-intoxicating cannabinoids, such as CBD and CBN, has recently given rise to an entire market which promotes cannabis-based products. An increase in the research for recovery and exploitation of beneficial cannabinoids has also been observed, with more than 10 000 peer-reviewed research articles published annually. In the present review, a brief overview of the history of cannabis is given. A look into the classification approaches of cannabis plants/species as well as the associated nomenclature is provided, followed by a description of their chemical characteristics and their medically valuable components. The application areas could not be absent from the present review. Still, the main focus of the review is the discussion of work conducted in the field of extraction of valuable bioactive compounds from cannabis. We conclude with a summary of the current status and outlook on the topics that future research should address.

Air-Frying Is a Better Thermal Processing Choice for Improving Antioxidant Properties of Brassica Vegetables

Brassica vegetables have demonstrated many health benefits over the years due to their composition of phenolic, flavonoid, and glucosinolate contents. However, these bioactive molecules can be easily depleted during gastronomic operations. Therefore, a sustainable method that improves their phenolic content and antioxidant activity is required for both the processors and consumers. Thermal processing has been demonstrated as a method to improve the phenolic content and antioxidant status of Brassica vegetables. In the current study, four different thermal processing methods, including freeze-drying, sautéing, steaming, and air-frying, were employed for five different Brassica vegetables, including kale, broccoli sprouts, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, and green cabbage. The total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activities were assessed using radical scavenging activity (DPPH and ABTS^•+), reducing power (FRAP), and the chelating ability of metal ions. Among the methods tested, air-frying at 160 °C for 10 min showed the highest TPC, TFC, and antioxidant activity of the Brassica vegetables, while sautéing showed the lowest. The steam treatments were preferred over the freeze-drying treatments. Within the vegetables tested, both kale and broccoli sprouts contained higher antioxidant properties in most of the employed processing treatments. The results also indicated that there is a strong correlation between the TPC, TFC, and antioxidant activity (p < 0.05). This study indicates that air-frying could be used as a sustainable thermal processing method for improving biomolecules in Brassica vegetables.

Improved Extraction Efficiency and Antioxidant Activity of Defatted Canola Meal Extract Phenolic Compounds Obtained from Air-Fried Seeds

This study investigated the efficacy of roasting pre-treatment by air frying to enhance the extraction and recovery of the predominant sinapic acid derivatives (SADs) from roasted canola meal and the antioxidant potential of the methanolic extracts. Canola meal was obtained by air frying canola seed at 160, 170, 180 or 190 °C for 5, 10, 15 or 20 min. Oil was extracted using the Soxhlet method, and the de-oiled meal fraction was air-dried. Phenolic compounds were isolated using ultrasound-assisted extraction with 70% (v/v) methanol and then quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection. The antioxidant potential of the defatted meal methanolic extracts was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and metal ion-chelating activity (MIC) assays. The highest total phenolic content of 3.15 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight was recorded in the defatted meal extract from seeds pre-treated with air frying at 190 °C for 15 min. Sinapine, sinapic acid and an unknown compound at a retention time (RT) of 26.6 min were the major sinapates identified in the defatted meal with the highest concentrations of 7572 ± 479.2 µg/g DW, 727 ± 43.45 µg/g DW and 1763 ± 73.5 µg/g DW, respectively, obtained at 160 °C for 5 min. Canolol (151.35 ± 7.65 µg/g DW) was detected after air frying at a temperature of 170 °C for 20 min. The FRAP and MIC correlated positively (r = 0.85) and generally decreased with increased air frying temperature-time conditions. The highest FRAP and MIC values of 0.53 mM and 80% were obtained at 160 °C for 5 and 20 min, respectively. The outcome of this study will contribute new knowledge that could improve the value addition and by-product utilization of canola seeds.

Influence of thermal treatments on the antioxidant activity of hemp cake polar extracts

The effect of preheating temperature (X₁), preheating time (X₂) and the nature of the extracting solvents (X₃) on the antioxidant activity of ultrasonic extracts of hemp cake was evaluated using a factorial design with a general linear multiple regression method using the three variables (X₁, X_2, and X₃) and three levels including low (-1), intermediate (0) and high (+ 1). The results indicated that the extracting solvent and the preheating temperature levels were the principal effects influencing the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity (DPPH and FRAP). The highest level of preheating temperature (+ 1 = 180 °C) and extracting solvent (+ 1 = Ac80) were the optimal conditions for enhancing the extraction of the total phenolics and providing the highest antioxidant activity in hemp cake extracts. The interaction between temperature (X₁), and the type of solvent (X₃) significantly (p < 0.05) affected all the dependent variables examined.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-021-05325-9.

Plant- and Animal-Based Antioxidants' Structure, Efficacy, Mechanisms, and Applications: A Review

Antioxidants are compounds that normally prevent lipid and protein oxidation. They play a major role in preventing many adverse conditions in the human body, including inflammation and cancer. Synthetic antioxidants are widely used in the food industry to prevent the production of adverse compounds that harm humans. However, plant- and animal-based antioxidants are more appealing to consumers than synthetic antioxidants. Plant-based antioxidants are mainly phenolic compounds, carotenoids, and vitamins, while animal-based antioxidants are mainly whole protein or the peptides of meat, fish, egg, milk, and plant proteins. Plant-based antioxidants mainly consist of aromatic rings, while animal-based antioxidants mainly consist of amino acids. The phenolic compounds and peptides act differently in preventing oxidation and can be used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Therefore, compared with animal-based antioxidants, plant-based compounds are more practical in the food industry. Even though plant-based antioxidant compounds are good sources of antioxidants, animal-based peptides (individual peptides) cannot be considered antioxidant compounds to add to food. However, they can be considered an ingredient that will enhance the antioxidant capacity. This review mainly compares plant- and animal-based antioxidants’ structure, efficacy, mechanisms, and applications.

Bioactive compounds from hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) seeds: optimization of phenolic antioxidant extraction using simplex lattice mixture design and HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS2 analysis

The extraction of phenolic compounds from defatted hempseeds was optimized using a simplex lattice mixture design with three solvents (water, methanol, and acetone). The response variables were total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity evaluated by different spectrophotometric tests. The results showed that the binary acetone-water mixture in equal proportions is the optimal combination to achieve the maximum TPC (53.65 mg GAE per g extract) with higher antioxidant activities (265.53, 36.25, 119.03, 69.46, and 68.91 mg TE g⁻¹ extract for the TAC, DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and CUPRAC tests respectively). In addition, the phenolic profile analysis of defatted hemp seeds by HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS² techniques showed the predominance of hydroxycinnamic acid amides and lignanamides. It allowed visualizing the effect of each solvent mixture on the relative extracted amount of each identified phenolic compound. This study suggests that N-trans-caffeoyltyramine, cannabisin A, and cannabisin B might contribute strongly to the potent antioxidant activity of hempseed extracts. Thus, it encourages the use of defatted hemp seeds as a source of antioxidants with added value for pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications.

The extraction of phenolic compounds from hemp seeds was optimized using a mixture design. 50% aqueous acetone was the optimal solvent to extract 33 phenolic compounds with a richness in hydroxycinnamic acid amides and lignanamides.

Rapidoxy® 100: A Solvent-Free Pre-treatment for Production of Canolol

RapidOxy® 100 is an automated instrument originally designed for measuring the oxidative stability of both solid and liquid samples. The compact and portable design of RapidOxy® 100, and its built-in pressurized heating chamber, provides a suitable environment for studying processing conditions. The feasibility of using oxygen or an inert atmosphere provides the ideal environment to study the effect of dry heat pre-treatment on canola antioxidants. The current study used RapidOxy® 100 to examine the impact of pressurized dry heat pre-treatment, under nitrogen, on the ultrasonic extraction of phenolic compounds. The effect of different pre-treatment temperature-time combinations of 120, 140, 160, and 180°C for 2, 5, 10, 15, and 20 min on the subsequent extraction of canola phenolic compounds was examined. The major sinapates identified by HPLC were sinapine, sinapic acid, and canolol. The optimum RapidOxy® condition for the maximum recovery of canolol was 160°C for 10 min. RapidOxy® 100 proved to be a novel and versatile instrument for enhancing the extraction of phenolic compounds.

Extraction of Phenolic Compounds and Terpenes from Cannabis sativa L. By-Products: From Conventional to Intensified Processes

Cannabis sativa L. is a controversial crop due to its high tetrahydrocannabinol content varieties; however, the hemp varieties get an increased interest. This paper describes (i) the main categories of phenolic compounds (flavonoids, stilbenoids and lignans) and terpenes (monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes) from C. sativa by-products and their biological activities and (ii) the main extraction techniques for their recovery. It includes not only common techniques such as conventional solvent extraction, and hydrodistillation, but also intensification and emerging techniques such as ultrasound-assisted extraction or supercritical CO2 extraction. The effect of the operating conditions on the yield and composition of these categories of phenolic compounds and terpenes was discussed. A thorough investigation of innovative extraction techniques is indeed crucial for the extraction of phenolic compounds and terpenes from cannabis toward a sustainable industrial valorization of the whole plant.

Characterization of bioactive compounds in defatted hempseed (Cannabis sativa L.) by UHPLC-HRMS/MS and anti-inflammatory activity in primary human monocytes

Anti-inflammatory effects on human monocytes by phenolic amides present in defatted hempseed fractions (Cannabis sativa L.).

In situ oxidation of canola meal sinapic acid by horseradish peroxidase (type II) and tyrosinase

The enzymatic oxidation of sinapic acid catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase (HRP) or tyrosinase was investigated using model systems, which contained the pure compound or canola meal. Spectrophotometric scanning of pure sinapic acid solution in the presence of HRP (0.2 U) or tyrosinase (40.3 U) showed continuous decreases in absorbance at 304 nm over a period of 90 and 60 min, respectively. HPLC analyses of enzymatic end products, obtained by the catalysis with HRP or tyrosinase, indicated the presence of two main compounds (1 and 2). After alkaline hydrolysis of canola meal, sinapic acid that was released from sinapine was also converted to compounds 1 and 2 by HRP or tyrosinase. Enzyme reaction kinetics results indicate that the catalytic efficiency (CE = 0.538), reaction velocity (V_max  = 5.67 ∆A/h), and Michaelis-Menten constant (K_m  = 926.64 µM) of HRP are significantly higher than those of tyrosinase (CE = 0.041, V_max  = 0.41 ∆A/h, K_m  = 173.03 µM) at 50-250 μM pure sinapic acid concentrations. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Canola meal contains a large amount of sinapine, which is the choline ester of sinapic acid, a strong antioxidant compound. However, the oxidation or decarboxylation products of sinapic acid could add value by increasing the level of electron-dense carboxylic and carbonyl compounds. In this study, enzymatic treatment of alkaline-hydrolyzed canola meal with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and tyrosinase was investigated and shown to be suitable for converting sinapic acid into oxidized compounds. Therefore, the enzymatic treatment is a potential application for value-added processing of canola meal.

Natural antioxidants of plant origin

Interest in the content of natural antioxidants in plant-based foods can be from the human health perspective, in terms of how these compounds might help promote one's health and wellness, or from the storage point-of-view, as the endogenous antioxidant constituents aid to extend a foodstuff's shelf-life. This chapter reports essential information about the mechanism of antioxidant action and methods employed for determination of their activity, classes of phenolic compounds (phenolic acids, flavonoids, lignans, stilbenes, tannins), sources of plant antioxidants (oil seeds, cereals, legumes, plants of the Lamiaceae family, tea and coffee, tree nuts, fruits, and berries), extraction strategies of phenolic compounds from plant material, and the influence of processing and storage on the content of natural antioxidants in foods and their antioxidant activity. Thermal processing, if not releasing bound phenolics from the structural matrices of the food, tends to decrease the antioxidant potential or, in the best case scenario, has no significant negative impact. Gentler sterilization processes such as high-pressure processing tend to better retain the antioxidant potential of a foodstuff than thermal treatments such as steaming, boiling, or frying. The impact of processing can be assessed by determining the antioxidant potential of foodstuffs either at the point of formulation or after different periods of storage under specified conditions.